Forget the tinny piano and saccharin sweet violin music associated with silent movies,
Viola Dana brings a modern twist to the genre for the Fremantle Festival, with musical humour, catchy tunes and recurring motifs that capture the films’ characters beautifully, composer Pete Guazzelli says.
“It’s a non-traditional line-up, with drum, guitar, viola and cello,” the WA Conservatory of Music graduate says.
“We might reference music of the time but not old soundtracks.”
Guazzelli has written two brand new scores to accompany the legendary Buster Keaton shorts Sherlock Jr (1924) and The High Sign (1921).
The show is titled Busted, and proves “crime doesn’t pay”, making Fremantle Prison the ideal venue, Guazzelli says.
Viola Dana had a successful North American tour earlier in the year, including performances at the Museum of the Moving Images in New York and the Toronto Silent Film Festival.
Back home the group, which includes members of the WA Symphony Orchestra, has been working with John Curtin College of the Arts arts media students on a silent film to be shown before the Keaton movies.
Keeping with the theme, year 10 student Oscar Cook’s short is about a high school girl who wants to fit in with “the cool kids” and is set up to steal a mobile phone.
“It’s the kind of thing you can find in school,” says Cook’s year eight sister Anna, who was dragooned into service as the lead character.
“It’s [about] peer pressure,” Rachel Fish, one of the “cool” gang adds.
The young actors relished the chance to “ham” it up a little in the absence of speaking parts.
“We had to do a lot more facial expression,” Anna says.
Oscar both wrote the script and directed the show, shooting it in a single day. He reckons the script didn’t take long either.
He opted to shoot in a classical black and white, which he says, “makes it look a lot better”.
Busted plays Thursday November 7 at the prison. Doors open 6pm for a 7.30pm start.
Tickets $15 adult, at the door or log onto http://www.events.ticketbooth.com.au/event/3778367/
by JENNY D’ANGER